Bowling ball stand



United States Patent Inventor Edward Kapltm Greenwich, Connecticut Appl. No. 846,017 Filed July 30, 1969 Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 724,037,

April 25, 1968 abandoned Patented Nov. 17, 1970 Assignee Castle Sporting Goods, Inc.

Yonkers, New York a corporation of New York BOWLING BALL STAND 5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

U.S.Cl 211/14,

Int. Cl A47f 7/00, A45c 1 1/00 Field otSearch 211/14, l3,

[5 6] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,939,225 6/1960 Mapes 211/15X 3,011,648 12/1961 Einhorn... 211/14 3,281,883 11/1966 Glantz..... 15/210 3,319,798 5/1967 Stevens 211/15 Primary ExaminerNile C. Byers, Jr. Attorney- Kenyon & Kenyon, Reilly, Carr & Chapin Patented Nov. 17, 1970 .Z of 5 Sheet Patented Nov. 17, 1970 Patented Nov. 17, 1970 3,540,000

Sheet 3 013 INVENTOR. Q4/44 0 @1 0) BOWLING BALL STAND This application is a continuation-in-part of Pat. appli: cation Ser. No. 724,037 filed April 25, I968 and now abandoned. i

This invention relates to a bowling ball stand for use within a carrying case.

In the sport of bowling, a participant generally finds it advantageous to purchase a bowling ball which is fabricated to i conform to the particular configuration of the hand of the participant. Accordingly, it is usually necessary for theparticipant to transport the bowling ball to and from a bowling alley. For this purpose, bowling ball bags or carrying cases are presently available which open by means of a zipper, for example, to receive the bowling ball. Because of the shape of the bowling ball, it is desirable and advantageous to incorporate a stand or support at or near the bottom of the bowling bag to seat the bowling ball and to prevent it from rolling around loosely in the closed bag.

A bowling participant also finds it desirable to own his own pair of bowling shoes. These, too, must be transported to and from the bowling alley. For convenience, bowling ball bags are designed not only to carry the bowling ball but also to store a pair of bowling shoes.

For obvious reasons, it is preferable that the bowling shoes be kept out of contact with the bowling ball. This has lead to the use of a separate compartment at the bottom of a bowling bag for storage of the bowling shoes.

Bowling balls are generally constructed of a hard plastic or hard rubber material. Accordingly, they can be scratched or marred by contact with metallic objects. To avoid such damage to the ball, it has been found necessary that the bowling ball stands utilized in bowling bags be designed to ensure that the bowling ball be maintained out of contact with metallic objects which could mar or scratch the surface of the. ball.

In view of the foregoing, it is an object of this invention to provide a bowling ball stand for use in a carrying case, which stand provides a seat for the bowling ball while avoiding the possibility of scratching or marring the surface thereof.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a bowling ball stand for use in a carrying case, which stand permits storage of a pair'of bowling shoes below the location at which the ball is seated.

Briefly stated, the present invention relates to a bowling ball stand comprising a frame formed of a pair of inverted U- shaped bars, each of said bars having a substantially horizontal section intermediate two equal length substantially vertical legs with said horizontal section being at a level above the extremities of said legs, said bars being spaced from one another FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bowling ball carrying case which incorporates a bowling ball stand constructed in accordance with one aspect of this invention;

' FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the relation- I ship between the frame, resilient plastic platform and reinforcing bars of the bowling ball stand shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the assembled elements of FIG. 2;

of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken across line 6-6 of FIG. I;

and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of thesubassembly comprising the frame and reinforcing rods. 7

Shown in FIG. 1 is a bowling ball carrying case I0 having handles 11. Access to the interior of case 10 is by means of a zippered flap l2. As shown in FIG. I bowling ball 13 rests on stand 14.

The bowling ball stand 14 depicted in the drawings is a preferred embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of stand 14 and depicts frame 15, constructed, for example, of A inches round steel stock. Frame 15 is a compositeof two inverted U-shaped bars l6joined by foot portions l7.-Each bar 16 consists ofa pair of equal length vertical legs 18 having a horizontal section 19 therebetween. One convenient way of constructing frame I5 is to bend two pieces of round steel stock and weld them together, for example at junctions 20 and 21 as shown in FIG. 2.

Also shown in FIG. 2 is resilient plastic platform 22. Platform 22 is preferably molded of a plastic material such as linear polyethylene, nylon, polystyrene or similar moldable plastics. As can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, for example, there is an opening 23 which serves to seat bowling ball 13. Opening 23 is provided with a beveled edge 24 to enhance the stability of the bowling ball when seated.

Platform 22 has a pair of channels 25 adjacent the periphery of two opposed sides 26 thereof. Channels 25 are designed to accept horizontal sections 19 in locking relationship. That is to say, the channels are made slightly narrower than the and located in parallel planes, and foot portions connecting corresponding pairs of said vertical legs adjacent their lower extremities; a resilient plastic platform in the shape of a rectangle and having a first pair of channels adjacent to and coextensive with the periphery of two opposing sides thereof,

said channels being adapted to accept respective horizontal sections of said frame in locking relationship; said platform also having a second pair of channels adjacent to and coextensive with the periphery of the other pair of opposing sides thereof, said second pair of channels being adapted to accept a pair of reinforcing rods in locking relationship, said reinforcing rods extending into and crossing said first pair of channels and being sandwiched between the platform and the said horizontal sections, said platform having bowling ball seating means comprising a substantially circular opening whose central axis is substantially parallel to the planes of said inverted U-shaped bars, said opening being adapted to receive and seat a bowling ball. I

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the two reinforcing rods is welded or otherwise permanently connected to the horizontal sections of said U-shaped bars.

The invention will be more readily appreciated when discussed in conjunction with the drawings in which:

that a press fit may be achieved. As can best be seenin FIG. 3 in conjunction with FIG. 4, flange support segments 27 are provided in each of channels 25 to serve as stops for horizontal sections 19. Outside flange 28 which is provided along the entire periphery of platform 22, has cutouts 29 to permit passage of horizontal sections 19 therethrough. In addition to serving as asupport for platform 22, horizontal sections 19 impart longitudinal strength.

Platform 22 is also provided with a second pair of channels 30 adjacent the periphery of the other pair of opposing sides 31 of platform 22. Channels 30 are provided to permit the use of reinforcing rods 32, shown, for example, in FIG. 2, to add transverse strength to platform 22. Preferably, reinforcing rods 32 are formed from round steel sto'ck approximately A inches in diameter. Channels 30 are designed to accept reinforcing rods 32 in a locking relationship. That is to say, the width ofchannels 30 is slightly smaller than the diameter of reinforcing rods 32 thereby providing a press fit.

In assembling stand 14, reinforcing rods 32 are first fitted within channels 30. Then, horizontal sections 19 are fitted within channels 25. This is shown, for example, in FIG. 4.

The depth of channels 30 is chosen so that the exposed surface of reinforcing rods 32 is at the same approximate level as flange support segments 27. In this manner reinforcing rods 32 aid segments 27 in supporting horizontal sections 19, and, in

' turn, horizontal sections 19 serve to maintain reinforcing rods structed ofa material which cannot mar or scratch the surface of a bowling ball. By using a molded plastic material for plat:

form 22, no additional precautions need to be taken to protect I the surfaces of the bowling ball which is is to support.

Although platform 22 is fabricated from a material which has relatively low strength, this is overcome by the use of horizontal sections 19 which reinforce two sides, and by reinforcing rods 32 which strengthen the other two sides of the platform. Thus, the stand of this invention affords the high strength ad vantage of metal while eliminating the drawback of the metal coming in contact with the surface of the bowling ball.

An important advantage of the stand contemplated by this invention is the simplicity of construction and the ease with which it maybe manufactured. Frame l5 can be fabricated from readily available metal stock and merely requires bending and simple welding. Platform 22 can be molded by standard compression molding techniques. Of course, reinforcing rods 32 require no fabrication other than cutting to size.

By using an inverted U shape in frame 15, space is provided for a pair of bowling shoes 33 as shown in FIG.1.

In a preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 7, reinforcing rods 32 are welded or otherwise permanently connected to I frame 15'. The location of the welds is shown in FIG. 7 by reference number 35.

The primary advantage derived from welding or otherwise permanently connecting reinforcing rods 32' to frame 15' is the elimination of any possible slippage of platform 22 along horizontal sections 19' of the frame 15. In other words, in the absence of-welds 35, subassembly comprising platform 22 and reinforcing rods 32, as shown in FIG. 2, could slide longitudinally along horizontal sections 19 if the friction fit between channels and sections 19 was inadequate. By permanently connecting reinforcing rods 32 to frame 15 the possibility of platform 22 slipping or otherwise moving is eliminated.

Although the embodiment shown in the drawings is preferred, it can be seen that the invention may take different forms. Thus, for example, frame 15 may be constructed in many ways from a variety of materials including solid or sheet metal, provided the equivalent of horizontal sections 19 is available for use in supporting platform 22. Likewise, it is not necessary to use an opening 23 with beveled edge 24 to seat the bowling ball. Such seating can be accomplished by means of a molded recess in platform 22 or any other configuration which will provide the necessary stability and prevent the bowling ball from rolling around withinthe carrying case.

Platform 22 is shown in FIG. 3 as having molded reinforcing ribs 34. It is to be understood that the number and positioning of such ribs is known to those skilled in the molding arts and does not form a part of this invention Increased rigidity may be also obtained, for example, by increasing the overall thickness or gauge of platform 22.

Although not shown in the drawings, it is obvious that stand 14 may be permanently connected to case 10 by methods well known in the art. Thus, foot portions 17 may be connected to the bottom of bowling bag 10, by the use of rivets or flaps or similar attachments. In addition, various expedients for im proving the appearance of stand 14 within case 10 may be employed. Here again, such methods of attachment and expedients form no part of this invention.

Although only one embodiment has been shown in the drawings and specifically described hereinabove, it is to be understood that one skilled in the art may vary the design of the stand without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

I claim:

1. A bowling ball stand for use in a carrying case comprising a frame formed of a pair of inverted U-shaped bars, each of said bars having a substantially horizontal section intermediate two substantially vertical legs, said bars being spaced from one another and located in parallel planes; a pair of reinforcing rods; aresilient plastic platform in the shape of a rectangle and having a first pair of channels adjacent to and coextensive with the periphery of acpair of opposing sides thereof, said channels being adapte to accept respective -of channels and being sandwiched between the platform and the said horizontal sections of said frame; and said platform having a bowling ball seat comprising a substantially circular opening adapted to receive and seat a bowling ball.

2. The bowling ball stand of claim 1 in which each of said reinforcing rods is connected to the respective horizontal sections of said U-shaped bars.

3. The bowling ball stand of claim I in which said U-shaped bars are joined by foot portions connecting corresponding pairs of said vertical legs adjacent their lower extremities thereof.

4. A bowling ball stand for use in a carrying case comprising frame means in the form of an inverted U having a substantially horizontal section intermediate two substantially vertical legs; said substantially horizontal section comprising a pair of spaced parallel members located in a substantially horizontal plane; a resilient plastic platform having a first and a second pair of parallel channels, said pairs of channels being approximately perpendicular and being located so as to form an approximate rectangle, said first pair of parallel channels being spaced and adapted to cooperatively connect to said parallel members whereby said platform is supported by said frame means, a pair of reinforcing rods in locking relationship with said second pair of parallel channels; and said platform having seating means adapted to seat a bowling ball.

5. The bowling ball stand of claim 4 iri which said reinforcing rods are respectively connected to said spaced parallel members. 

